September U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $176.5 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) collaboration, was up 4.6% from August’s total and up 7.7% from September 2013.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals actually reported by the companies participating in the CTMR program. The totals here represent about 80 percent of the U.S. market for cutting tools.

“The 4.6% increase for September’s cutting tool shipments was not a surprise as the market’s expectations were for a strong finish in 2014,” said Brad Lawton, Chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group. “There is every indication that the momentum from the fall of 2014 is a harbinger of continued growth in industrial production and cutting tool sales for 2015.”

The Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) is jointly compiled by AMT and USCTI, two trade associations representing the development, production and distribution of cutting tool technology and products. It provides a monthly statement on U.S. manufacturers’ consumption of the primary consumable in the manufacturing process – the cutting tool. Analysis of cutting tool consumption is a leading indicator of both upturns and downturns in U.S. manufacturing activity, as it is a true measure of actual production levels.

Historical data for the Cutting Tool Market Report is available dating back to January 2012. This collaboration of AMT and USCTI is the first step in the two associations working together to promote and support U.S.-based manufacturers of cutting tool technology.

August US manufacturing technology orders totaled $356.69 million according to AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was up 0.4% from July but down 6.0% when compared with the total of $379.26 million reported for August 2013. With a year-to-date total of $3,076.98 million, 2014 is down 2.4% compared with 2013.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program.

“US manufacturing activity remains at a brisk pace, and especially encouraging for manufacturing technology orders was a recent uptick in durable goods orders, particularly in aerospace, automotive, and several other key industries,” said Douglas K. Woods, President, AMT-The Association For Manufacturing Technology. “There has also been good news in factory employment as more manufacturers add workers to their payrolls. With AMT’s Global Forecasting & Marketing Conference taking place this week in Detroit featuring some of the top industry analysts and economists, we believe we will be hearing more positive news from their forecasts for the manufacturing technology industry over the next few years.”

The United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) report, compiled by the trade association representing the production and distribution of manufacturing technology, provides regional and national U.S. orders data of domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment. Analysis of manufacturing technology orders provides a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing industries invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.

US manufacturing technology orders are also reported on a regional basis for six geographic breakdowns of the United States.

Northeast Region
At $60.40 million, August manufacturing technology orders in the Northeast Region were down 2.1% when compared with last August’s $61.69 million. The year-to-date total of $495.75 million was 6.8% less than the equivalent figure for 2013.

Southeast Region
At $287.94 million, 2014 year-to-date manufacturing technology orders in the Southeast Region were 0.5% higher than the comparable figure for 2013.

North Central-East Region
August manufacturing technology orders in the North Central-East Region stood at $87.42 million, down 4.2% from July’s $91.25 million and down 11.5% when compared with the $98.83 million tally in August 2013. The 2014 year-to-date total of $844.02 million was 4.0% more than the 2013 total at the same time.

North Central-West Region
North Central-West Region manufacturing technology orders in August totaled $65.35 million, down 6.8% when compared with the $70.12 million for August 2013. With a year-to-date total of $507.68 million, 2014 was off 12.9% compared with 2013 at the same time.

South Central Region
Year-to-date manufacturing technology orders in the South Central Region totaled $482.12 million, 1.2% less than the comparable figure for 2013.

NOTE:  AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology’s intent is to always provide timely and accurate economic reports to our community. For this reason, we are making an adjustment to the USMTO report. Due to a change in survey participants the year over year comparison number for Metal Forming and Fabricating is not an accurate reflection of the data. We have adjusted the data for the past 12 months to take this change into consideration. The new chart reflects a consistent year over year comparison of the data at the current participation level.